Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Grade Skip - Yes or No?

My DS8 is in second grade full time gifted program where he is accelerated by one grade in all subject areas. He excels in school and always maxes out on achievement tests. His recent WISC-V results are in the 99.9th percentile. Though he does not say he is bored and he seems happy at school, I have a feeling that he finds the subject content easy as he can quickly finish almost anything he is working on.

Considering all thes factors, I have been talking to his teacher about a grade skip at this point. The teacher says he can totally pull off the grade skip academically and that yes, he finds most of the content easy as of now. He is December born and one of the oldest in his classroom. Therefore, I am thinking he can emotionally and socially fit in with the 4th graders (gifted classroom) next year. As of now, the teacher is making sure he is engaged by providing him independent inquiry based learning projects.

However, the final decision will be made by the principal and the gifted programs office and also depends on the policies. I have been called for a meeting next week with the principal.

I am planning to carry all the available data for the meeting. I am a little concerned if the grade skip can impact him negatively in anyway. Are there any parents here who have opted for a grade skip and encountered negative situations? Please also suggest how I should prepare for the meeting.

Reading through this advocacy guidebook right now. It is incredibly useful. https://dnnlv5ifs.blob.core.windows.net/portals/2/PDFs/Guidebooks/Davidson_Guidebook_Advocating.pdf?sr=b&si=DNNFileManagerPolicy&sig=QD1wJFgpbD0qSc%2B19ujLU6ImtSTG7%2B96vLdC80amMgE%3D

My DD experienced no downsides directly related to skipping 3rd, except that her school quite foolishly segregated children by grade level, so she could no longer enjoy the company of her previous friends. It was very much a short-term problem. The benefits far outweigh the negatives.

One special consideration for boys is that so much of their interaction, positive and negative, is very physical. For social development reasons, therefore, I would caution any parents to think carefully about a grade skip if their boy is already small for his cohort. If he can at least be reasonably expected to hold his own today with the older cohort, and family history suggests that it is unlikely to change, then when all other considerations are good, go for it.

Does the school use the Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS)? Have you read up on this tool, to possibly position yourself to recommend its use?

Have you read your State laws, and school polices?

There is good and bad in everything. There is a roundup of acceleration PROs and CONs in this old post.

What is the purpose of the meeting? To define and initiate a process? To gather data from you? To present you with the school's decision?
A crowd-sourced list of meeting tips is found in this old Advocacy thread.

Yes, the Davidson Guidebook - Advocating for Exceptionally Gifted Young People is one of many helpful resources listed in the Advocacy thread.



Pointing to roundup threads and posts, and even the existence of roundup threads and posts, is not meant to put a damper on current conversations. Rather, it is to help provide a knowledge base for parents, even when the forum is not very active.

Thanks Dude and Indigo
Dude, yes, my son is a little petite for his age. But he is a sunny person with a positive attitude. That leads me to think he may fit in with older children.


I totally understand. I have been going through many of these links from the forum since the last couple of days.

They have mentioned that the meeting is to discuss about "my requirement" since I have e-mailed to the teacher about the grade skip and had a meeting with the teacher too. The teacher says she will approve it from her end, but I do not know yet if the school will approve this idea and initiate the process. I am providing them whatever data I have so far.

I did read about the IAS online and have asked the teacher to find out if the school uses it. Can this tool be accessed in anyway by parents to find out where the child fits?

The state laws do not say anything about acceleration. In the DYS link, I see that individual school districts decide it. I am not able to find the school district's acceleration policies online except for math placement.

This is sufficiently nebulous that it could mean anything... good or bad. Unfortunately, this phrase, isolated and out-of-context, is focused on YOU (your requirement) and not on YOUR CHILD (child's educational needs, ongoing growth, etc). If this occurs in conversation, you may wish to gently, politely change the focus from you to your child. The worst-case-scenario of a school stating they wish to schedule a meeting to discuss "your requirement" may be that they'd announce that they cannot meet "your requirement". This can be a conversation ender, whereas staying focused on your child's ongoing development generally allows conversation to continue, with brainstorming on various ideas, options, feasibility, counter-proposals etc.

What process? It appears, from the lack of published acceleration policy, that the school may not yet have adopted or defined a process. They may not have encountered this type of situation previously, or may not have encountered it frequently enough to have established a process. You may wish to become familiar with the IAS and suggest utilizing it to establish a process which advances objectivity.

You may wish to make a cover sheet, inventory list, or summary of the data points you have so far. Ensure that you provide a copy of the summary sheet for the school's convenience, and only provide the school with copies, not originals, of any of your data point documents. Ensure that you leave the meeting with ALL of your documents.

The IAS is not used unilaterally to see where a child fits. It is an aid to gathering information for discussion, to ensure that all important factors are considered and documented. The tool is copyrighted and can be purchased but not copied or posted online. The authors have intellectual property rights and it is a violation of the law to copy/post online. Here is a brief roundup of links on the IAS:
- Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS) (link to IAS description on Hoagies' Gifted Education Page)
- IAS - Acceleration Institute
- IAS - Great Potential Press
- post discussing tests for Ability, Aptitude, Achievement
- post discussing aeh test insights
- post discussing single subject acceleration (SSA), IQ cutoff
- post discussing whether IAS forms are needed
- post discussing older sibling in receiving grade

Introducing the IAS may be helpful, as it keeps the decision focused on facts and research, not emotion or hunches. The IAS may form the basis or foundation for the school drafting an acceleration policy. It may be helpful to you have an acceleration policy in place prior to possibly needing to discuss further acceleration for your son... or future acceleration for your daughter (as you've posted elsewhere that her preschool achievements may indicate giftedness). Having an objective, documented policy in place, published and accessible to all, will help avoid the notion that the school exhibited favoritism, caved to a pushy parent, etc.

Remember:
- The end goal is doing the best, under a given set of circumstances - including financial constraints - to meet your son's needs and facilitate your son's continued and ongoing development... which may include one or more whole grade accelerations over time.
- The goal is NOT the whole grade acceleration. It is not a one-and-done solution. Meeting your son's educational needs is an ongoing process of gathering data and making adjustments to provide the optimal or least-worst learning environment for your son, over time.

Thanks a lot indigo. All those inputs are eye-opening. I read up on all the policies from the school district to find out these details regarding "retention / acceleration".

"When a student is identified for retention, double promotion, or additional acceleration, the
guidance team will convene to conduct a review of progress, including progress reports,
standardized tests, and/or recommendations from previous instructor(s). If the school year has
begun, the student will be placed in his/her expected grade level, pending the recommendation of
the guidance team.
If the guidance team determines additional assessment is needed to make a recommendation, the
parents will be informed and their written permission will be sought. Upon completion of the
assessments, the guidance team will reconvene to discuss their recommendation for retention,
double promotion or additional acceleration as well as any additional special programs or
services."

His progress reports are a mix of 'meeting' and 'exceeding' expectation numbers. He takes only STAR few times a year as the standardized test. He has the WISC-V reports. Recommendations from the teacher will be positive, I hope.

From the policies, I understand it is more of a review team discussing his data and deciding on the acceleration. I am not sure if they have anything to collate all the data and quantify. I do not know if the school district is using IAS. If they are not, can I request them to?

I will always, always remember that.

Yes, you could describe the overall concept and benefits of this tool. You could provide weblinks and/or printouts of sources the school could consult for more information. You can pull this information from the links upthread and put it in the format you would like.

Some schools/districts may take notes as they work together with a parent, specifically for the purpose of drafting policy and practice statements to define a standardized process to use going forward. If they do not make you aware that they are doing this, you may wish to ask.

Then again, your child's school may be one which does not closely define policy/process/practice. Unfortunately, this usually results in a degree of re-inventing the wheel each time an acceleration is being considered.

There is not a one-size-fits-all answer. Hopefully considering a variety of possible approaches and strategies in advance will have you feeling well-prepared and confident to work flexibly with whatever situation presents itself.

ss62, I was able to check a copy of the IAS out of the library for purposes of seeing what's in it and getting an idea of how it might be used. Even if your home library doesn't have a copy, it may be available via interlibrary loan. You may not be able to lay hands on it for this meeting, but it can be valuable to bring to a meeting to show the school what it is. They might well end up purchasing a copy to help them develop a more objectively defensible process.

Thanks indigo and Elizabeth, I will see if I can get it from the library.
I am a little nervous about this meeting and I have a feeling there is a high probability that this may not happen, because a staff tells me this has never ever happened in the gifted program. I also heard that it is probably not within the principal's jurisdiction to decide and we may have to wait for the gifted programs office to make the final decision. I am going to try my best though. I am reading through the various links that you have shared earlier to make myself knowledgeable about advocacy for acceleration. Thanks again.

I had a meeting with the school principal last week. Overall, the meeting went well. He totally heard me and accepts that DS is probably getting bored since there was a slight decline in the IRL and SS in his STAR Reading and Math between Fall testing and winter testing. I came to understand that the school district does not have a tool like IAS and that the guidance team will meet with us to decide about the grade advance. Thanks to indigo, I was equipped with a summary sheet, a detailed case study and copies of all relevant data during the principal's meeting. I provided him all of those. I have another meeting in a couple of weeks with the guidance team that includes gifted programs office director, his class teacher, the school psychologist, the principal and the asst. principal and I and DH. I am concerned that they do not have a tool to come up with the decision objectively. They will collectively discuss about the data with us and say an yes or no. I discussed about IAS with the principal , but they are not going to buy one and use it for my DS. I am wondering if I should just wait for the meeting or do something else in the meanwhile.

Good to hear.

Suggested next steps:
- Try to obtain the IAS through your local public library (inter-library loan program) as mentioned by ElizabethN.
- or purchase IAS via Great Potential Press. While $269.95 is not insignificant, IMO it is a worthwhile investment in your children. The 10 forms could easily be used, at the rate of 1 each year.
- or type words such as "used copy iowa acceleration scale" into your web browser and purchase a used copy. Several options appear to be available for about $60-$80. Tips on buying IAS 2nd hand:
-- Purchase 3rd edition (current) if possible, but 2nd edition will do, if price is a factor and you get the old version for much less than the 3rd edition.
-- Verify whether the purchase price includes both types of forms, and what quantity of each.
-- If needed, purchase replacement forms or make-do by jotting on paper (such as graph paper to keep the responses tidy).

Come to the meeting prepared with:
- your family members' IAS evaluation forms completed and already discussed at home, to your level of comfort, ensuring that your child, spouse, and self are confident that you are in agreement,
- copy of your family members' completed IAS evaluation forms,
- the IAS manual and a Planning Record form to discuss with the school.

If the school remains uninterested in the IAS, you will still have benefited:
- the contents of the IAS will no longer be a mystery to you, you will not wonder about it, the unknown will have no power over you,
- your knowledge of the IAS will provide a basis for your evaluation/assessment/opinion of the school's data-gathering, discussion, and decision-making
- based on the data your family members provide to IAS prompts at home, your family will have had fruitful conversations in the home prior to the meeting
- you will be confident of making the best decision possible based on the information available at this time... no regrets... just possible future changes in decision, based on new or revised information available at that future time.

Thanks indigo, yes, I have requested a copy of the IAS through interlibrary loan as my local one does not have it. Not sure if I get hold of one before the meeting. I will try to purchase a used copy as you have suggested.
DS will certainly qualify if they take an objective approach, but do not know what they will come up with, depending on whatever process they have, right now. I asked the principal for forms that I need to fill in, but he says there are no official forms for this process. I am starting to worry.
Also, he says kids who do not progress along with their peers may later turn out unhappy etc..I got scared by that idea, but I am sure DS is pretty social and can fit in with older kids. My brain is just a big mess right now. I am sure IAS can help me figure out most of these elements.

Two questions to think about:
1) What does he mean by "peers"...
chronological age peers, or academic/intellectual peers?
Many families find that academic/intellectual peers are a gifted child's TRUE peers.
2) What informs his view...
is it a reliable source of information?
- There are years of research (empirical evidence) behind the reports presented by the Acceleration Institute, and behind the development of the IAS.
- There are years of lived experiences (anecdotal evidence) from families with gifted children, shared in the posts on this forum discussing acceleration.
- Both of these would be considered credible sources.

While I understand a school's desire to be cautious in advising whether or not a student should skip a grade, when a school lacks depth of experience with whole-grade acceleration, it seems the best way to proceed with caution would be to leverage the years of experience behind the IAS. No need to guess, worry, or re-invent the wheel.

Ugh - I hate this scare tactic. They MAY turn out to be most anything: happy, unhappy, tall, short, etc. Each kid should be evaluated individually, and not compared to caricatures on TV or children from anecdotes. (including my anecdote in the next post )

Also, we found the IAS a great resource, so I hope your copy arrives before your meeting - even if the school won't officially recognize that process.

Best of luck,
--S.F.

Hopefully your evaluation and discussion goes better than our first attempt at a grade skip (K to 2nd). The school was supposed to use the IAS, but the [censored] principal made up her own test. My kiddo was ding'd for not knowing material they wouldn't introduce until the end of 2nd grade. Also, their collective discussion was more of an attempt to bully us out of wanting a skip.

Luckily we abandoned that school district. Two grade skips (from other school systems) later (skipped 2nd and 6th grades), we have a perfectly happy 17 year old freshman in college who shudders when we ask if she'd rather be a junior in HS.

Best of luck,
--S.F.

indigo, thanks for those wonderful pointers, as usual. I think the principal was trying to talk about his 'gifted program classmates', when he said 'peers'. Obviously, they consider all the kids in the gifted program are equal in some ways. They are all in the top 2 percentile and so, the school district considers them all to be of the same proficiency. I did point out to him that the difference between a score of 130 and 160, for example, is the same as that between a 100 and a 130. Basically, I was trying to point to him that not all gifted kids act the same way and like the same things. Of course, I did not use an excellent wording, as you had used in your post. I am gonna have to steal and practice some of your vocabulary and terminology before I go to this meeting :-)

SFrog, thanks for your anecdote. yes, the scare tactic worked on me. I did get give it a thought:-( but I understood that my DS is definitely mature to handle and be with older kids. I am trying to purchase a used copy of IAS online.

I think my DS might also take a test, similar to the one you are mentioning about. If there would be one, a 50th percentile or more is good enough to qualify for an acceleration. I remember seeing such a thing in one of the posts about IAS. But, yes, if they decide to say a 'no', they will say it anyways. Fingers crossed, but extremely worried. I am really glad that your kid used a couple of skips and is doing well in college.

For the "130 and up are all the same" issue I've had some success advocating for PG kids using data from here https://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/iqtable.aspx

I made up a chart with 3 columns and then put in the numbers for IQ's from 130-160 (I stopped there because extended norms are non-existent in Canada, if you have a kid with scores above that you could continue)
- IQ
- Rarity of this IQ and higher 1/x
- A teacher will experience every...(for this, I used a 1:20 ratio that our school district targets for primary, obviously for larger classes and/or teachers that teach in multiple classrooms this would be different and you can redo the math)

IQ Rarity..., A teacher...
130 44 2 years
135 102 5 years
140 261 13 years
145 741 37 years
150 2,330 116 years
155 8,137 407 years
160 31,560 1,578 years

It might also be useful to add another column of how many kids would be expected in the district (I didn't do this because it highlighted that there are more gifted kids in our area than you would expect (for a variety of reasons) but I didn't want to distract and have them question why we have so many).

A variation of this was shown to me years ago by a local advocacy group when I first started our adventure. It really helped me understand why teachers and principals didn't seem to understand my child and our situation. This made it so clear that while they might have dealt with lots of gifted kids and what they were talking about might have worked well for many of them, there was a reason they were kind of clueless when it came to ones further to the right.

I know percentiles basically say the same thing but this made it a lot clearer to the wider audience I was dealing with. I'm a pretty mathy person and even for me this really hammered it home. It helped me feel a little less crazy/pushy/demanding for looking for more and gave me something concrete to point to as the reason why.

I don't think you two disagree on this point, and the real issue is you're working from different definitions of "peer." The kids who are the same age are not your DS's peers.

My DD would happily fill your ear with commentary about how the kids in her grade are immature, and she was already skipped a year.

Tip: If and when a school says "NO", now or at anytime in the future... this is not the end. Do not freeze up in the meeting. Instead, flow along for a moment:
1) listen closely, and jot down all the reasons they cite. Then politely, and genuinely ask, "Is there anything more?" until you have listened with interest and made note of all that they reveal. You want to know, understand, and document ALL of their reasoning. So that you may best prepare to advocate for meeting your child's needs.
2) close the meeting by leaving things open for future discussion. Possibly say something along the lines of understanding that they believe it is not time for a grade skip, but let's continue to observe how he is doing and meet again to discuss our observations in... a month(?)...

On the other hand, if/when a school provides the learning environment which you were seeking for your child (such as the grade skip), do not smile, gloat, treat it as a relief, victory, or "win"... as though this was a contest or debate. In fact, you could help close the meeting in a similar manner to what is described in #2 above (as a suggested course of action if they do not approve the grade-skip).

Bottom Line: Maintain even keel and focus on facts, not emotions, which ever way they decide. Remember, this is a long-term parent-school partnership focused on what is in the best interests of your son.

After the meeting: Be sure to send a brief, pleasant meeting recap or letter of understanding (as described elsewhere in advocacy posts and threads).

Worry may often be the result of not having a Plan-B or back-up plan. If the school refuses whole-grade acceleration, what are next steps?
- Explore the possibility of piece-meal acceleration for specific subjects?
- At-home enrichment?
- Evening, weekend, and summer courses?
- Homeschooling? Homeschool co-op? Unschooling?
- Look at other schools?
- etc...
While options on a list you may come up with may be unpalatable due to location/commute, effort involved, time taken away from other endeavors, cost, etc... a family must weigh which option or combination of options available provide the best (or least-worst) opportunity for their child's continued growth and development.

Case in point, DD treated me to this gem this afternoon: “You know what’s the best thing about testing? People finally shut up.”

Chay, the link shows the difference and is helpful. I will create one and keep for my use. Thank you.
Dude, yes, they consider his 2nd grade classmates as the right peers as all of them are one grade accelerated in the gifted program. I am trying to request them to give him, a little more than that.

indigo, sure, I understand what you are saying about the 'yes/no' situations. I will try to maintain the amicability and have my action items on the list, in any case. I am worried because I do not have a clear plan B. I do not know if they do one or more subject accelerations individually and I have not checked with them on it till now. I would love to homeschool, but when I discussed that with my DS, he does not seem to want it (at least as of now). He wants to get out, meet and be with his buddies. He is basically liking going to school everyday. Private school is not an option for us right now due to the tuition. I provide him enrichment in Math and LA at home. I am still new to all this and trying to figure out what kind of learning plan I need to come with, for him to make sure he learns more than he revises.

In the short term, your plan B is that he remain in a one-year accelerated program in a gifted class, and you advocate to provide as much acceleration as possible within that classroom.

I would like you to look at Deb Ruf’s guide to levels of giftedness and place your child (privately). Most children in his program are probably level 2 (or 3 if it’s a magnet in an urban center). If he is a 4 or 5, his intellectual needs and capabilities will be different, even if he presents, socially, as a “peer” to his cohort.

http://www.iowatag.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/HowSmartisMyChild.pdf

You might be stunned at what he can accomplish in a very short period of time if you let him rip in a subject he loves. Very gifted children really are socialized to fit the mold, even in an otherwise mostly supportive setting.

In your shoes, because it seems the biggest issue is unknown unknowns and how that will affect your advocacy, I’d bite the bullet and buy an IAS kit stat. Know what you want, then go get it!

ss62, a question to further clarify your thinking about the grade skip you are seeking... not just a skip to the next grade, but into the gifted cohort or cluster of that next grade? Might the school consider arranging a day or half-day classroom visit or shadowing experience for your child, to help assess the "fit"?

indigo, yes, he is currently in 2nd grade gifted where he does 3rd grade CC curriculum. If he gets a skip grade, he will go into the 4th grade gifted where they teach 5th grade curriculum, skipping 4th grade curriculum. If he does not get a skip grade, he will go into 3rd grade and study the 4th grade CC. A half-day classroom visit is a good option. I will ask them for that if the skip grade meeting does not go well and they agree to review later. I am getting an IAS kit soon. I will try to fill out and come up with required plans, before the meeting.

Aquinas, yes, he will remain in the program and they may not differentiate instructions much within that classroom. Thank you for Deborah Ruf's guide. It quantifies several little milestones.

Excellent! Good luck!

Thank you Aquinas, sorry forgot to mention your name in my previous post. Editing now.

I purchased an IAS kit. After reading through the manual, I have filled out the forms and I think I am a bit more ready to go for the meeting next week. my 'unknowns' have come down a little too. The school may not recognize my filled out forms and his numbers from IAS as they have clarified earlier that they do not want to use IAS and would follow their own procedure for acceleration, which I believe is not objective, as I have been told there are no forms for me to fill in. can I take the filled out forms to present to the school board and show them the various aspects that needs to be considered and my DS's numbers for each of them? I am asking because IAS is a copyrighted material and the school district does not have one at the moment.

But you bought one, so it seems to me you have a legal copy. Parents can bring any information they like to the school district. (They don't have to use it, of course.)

Agreed.

This is great. Have you also discussed each of the IAS items thoroughly at home? Are each of the parents in agreement? Is your child in agreement? Is your child in favor of a grade-skip at this time?

True. If the school remains uninterested in the IAS, you still will have benefited... by having increased your knowledge base.

Personally, I would NOT pro-actively disrupt the school's process or procedure. Unfortunately this sounds a bit like your plan is to steamroll over anything which gets in your way... not a good approach for sustaining positive relationships with spouse, school, or others.

I would advise that you attend the meeting, listen well, ask clarifying questions, and take notes. After hearing ALL that they have to say, if there are factors which they did not consider and which are presented in the IAS forms, THEN you may wish to inquire as to their thoughts on the importance and weight of those factors.

The overall idea is to:
- build your own knowledge base (which you have done),
- learn about the school's knowledge base (which you will do at the meeting),
- build a bridge of understanding. You may find that you are already in agreement, but have taken different paths to arrive at that point.

yes, I am glad I read through the manual. There is so much information on acceleration that I have not known before. We filled out the forms together and DH seems to be in agreement so far. DS is interested in the grade skip as he believes the 4th grade classroom may teach stuff that he already does not know.
I understand why I should not bring out my forms in the meeting. I will have them with me and bring them out only if I find them not considering some of the aspects. If the tool they have is as comprehensive and complete as IAS, I may not have to. Thanks for the advise, as always. I am also making notes of some of the citations from IAS, which I can use during the meeting. The research and clinical findings presented in IAS have dismissed many of my concerns in this advocacy step.

Thanks for sharing.
I believe the meeting will go well, due to your careful preparation.
You will be confident and be able to evaluate what they are presenting.

I'm looking forward to the next update.

Of course, thank you indigo for the detailed guidance, all the way. I would not have been this well-prepared, if not for you. I will definitely keep you all posted.

We had the meeting yesterday with the guidance team. It was planned for 45 minutes and ended up going on for an hour, which still was not enough. The gifted programs people are clearly hesitant to go with the acceleration. They had a lot of 'what if's for me and I tried to give my best answers. As the school board does not have a process in place other than everyone talking about what they think about acceleration, I talked to them about IAS and showed them the forms too. However, they were not ready to look into it saying IAS was designed for kids in non-accelerated programs and it cannot be used for my DS as he is already in the gifted program. They did say about obstacles he will face in middle school like the last one to drive, puberty related differences etc. Overall, the meeting was more like sharing information, rather than making a decision. I was told that they need time to discuss among themselves and that they will let me know soon about the decision. I have the feeling that this may not happen after sensing all the hesitations and resistance to change the status quo from yesterday's meeting.

ss62, sorry to be so slow in responding... my time is at a premium these days.


Background info -
The IAS does NOT express that it is limited to only students in general education programs (and does not apply to children in gifted/accelerated programs), therefore I would suggest that the school made this up.

The IAS can be used even for multiple accelerations. It is not uncommon for a child to skip a grade, and later skip another grade.

Ideas for Next Steps -
1) Rather than allowing the school to put you on the defensive and have you prove that "IAS can also be used for kids in accelerated programs", I would ask the school for a link or supporting document that supports their assertion that "IAS takes into account only non-accelerated kids." What is their basis for this claim?

2) You might also want to contact the Acceleration Institute. The e-mail address is provided on the About_Us page. The Acceleration Institute may be very interested in hearing the school's statement, and may be able to provide some guidance or tips to you directly and/or through an update to their Acceleration Institute website. The Parents page may be of interest.

3) Keep in mind that the goal is not to win an acceleration, but to meet your child's educational needs for continued growth and development. Therefore if the school is reluctant to arrange an acceleration, you may wish to point out perceived gaps in meeting his needs... and inquire as to their plans to meet his needs. If the school does not see a gap, and believes his needs are being met, then keep documentation at home, regarding signs that he is not appropriately challenged for his continued growth and development. You may later select items from this list to advocate to have his needs met.

Wishing you all the best, in supporting your son. Advocacy is a reiterative process. Don't be discouraged. Keep in touch.